Office Depot (NYSE: ODP ) scored a win in its merger with fellow big-box supply store retailer Office Max (NYSE: OMX ) , but is the company out of the proverbial weeds? The Depot saw its shares decline more than 6% Wednesday due to an earnings report that came in under estimates and altogether left investors and analysts unimpressed. No one has any delusions as to the intense technology-fueled disruption facing Office Depot and its recently acquired competitor, but there are levers the company can pull to remain relevant in the future.
Tough earnings recap
Despite the news that the two big "Office" stores are joining forces to fight back against Amazon.com� (NASDAQ: AMZN ) , the market had a hard time being enthused about Office Depot's $0.02-per-share earnings in the just-ended quarter -- a drop off of two-thirds since the year-ago quarter. Wall Street was expecting earnings to drop as well, but only by one penny.
Revenue wasn't as bad of a story -- down just 3% to $2.62 billion and slightly above analyst expectations. Management has been working to reel in costs in the face of falling sales, but the latter proved too substantial in the three-month period.
Best Defensive Companies For 2015: Nice Systems Ltd (NICE)
NICE-Systems Ltd. (NICE), incorporated on September 28, 1986, is a provider of solutions that enable enterprises and security organizations to extract insight from interactions, transactions and surveillance to drive business performance and ensure safety and security. Its solutions enable companies and public organizations to capture, manage, analyze and impact unstructured interaction, as well as transactional data, enabling such entities to comply with internal and governmental regulations, improve business and operational performance and address security threats while increasing situational awareness. Unstructured content includes cross-channel analysis of phone calls, chat, instant messaging and e-mail interactions to contact centers, trading floors, branches, home agents and back offices, phone calls to emergency service providers and first responders, video captured by closed circuit cameras, radio communications between emergency services��and first responders��personnel, Internet sessions, e-mail and instant messaging and security management solutions for command and control centers. In May 2010, the Company acquired Lamda Communication Networks Ltd.
On January 11, 2010, NICE completed the acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of Orsus Solutions Limited and certain subsidiaries of Orsus. On August 31, 2009, NICE and certain subsidiaries of NICE completed the acquisition of the voting securities of certain subsidiaries of Fortent, Inc. (Fortent). On August 31, 2009, NICE completed the acquisition of Hexagon System Engineering Ltd. (Hexagon). On June 17, 2009, the Company completed the acquisition of Syfact.
The Company�� products include NICE SmartCenter, NICE Perform Interaction Recording, NICE Perform eXpress (NPX), NICE Quality Management, NICE Interaction Analytics, NICE Real-Time Guidance, NICE Packaged Business Solutions, NICE Feedback, NICE IEX Workforce Management, Performance Manager, Network Embedded Logger and NiceCall Focus III. It also incl! udes Actimize Fraud Prevention Suite, Actimize Anti-Money Laundering Suite, Actimize Brokerage Compliance Suite, Actimize Enterprise Risk Case Manager, Mirra IV, NICE Inform, NiceVision Net, NiceVision ControlCenter, NiceVision Analytics, NiceVision Digital, NiceVision SafeRoute, NICE Situator, FAST alpha Silver, NiceTrack.
NICE SmartCenter leverages the synergies of the combined capabilities of NICE Perform, NICE Quality Management, NICE Interaction Analytics, NICE Feedback, IEX TotalView and Performance Manager. NICE Perform Interaction Recording records customer interactions with contact center agents, financial trading floors, investment banking and enterprises, with a separate suite of applications for contact centers and investment banking, including for organizations that have a relatively small number of input channels. NICE Perform eXpress (NPX) brings the capabilities of Nice Perform into a single box, low TCO solution based on commercial hardware for small businesses or small systems. NICE Quality Management delivers tools for implementing a multifaceted quality program encompassing agents, supervisors, evaluators and managers.
NICE Interaction Analytics utilizes a multi-dimensional analysis approach to analyze customer interactions across communication channels and provide automated business insight and root cause analysis based on speech analytics, e-mail and chat analysis, call flow analysis, screen content analysis and integration with customer relationship management (CRM) data. NICE Real-Time Guidance leverages interaction analytics in order to provide recommendations to the agent in real-time during a phone or chat interaction with a customer, popping up contextually relevant instructions to the agent within call-out windows.
NICE Packaged Business Solutions is a set of out-of-the-box solutions designed to address common contact center challenges, including Customer Churn Reduction, Sales Effectiveness, Customer Experience, Marketing Effective! ness, Col! lections Optimization, Quality Optimization, such as First Contact Resolution and Average Handling Time. NICE Feedback is a solution for collecting real-time customer feedback after a call or any other type of interaction with the organization. NICE IEX Workforce Management forecasts customer interactions, schedules agents with appropriate skills to manage and optimize level of customer service and resources, measures agent and team performance and supports managing overall contact center performance
Performance Manager maps enterprise business objectives to group and individual goals, tracks and reports performance. Network Embedded Logger offers a Linux based voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) Logger embedded in Cisco routers, suitable for branch recording with NICE Perform. NiceCall Focus III provides a voice recording system for organizations that have a relatively small number of input channels and a cost-effective solution for branch recording (TDM only) with centralized storage. Actimize Fraud Prevention Suite is a suite of focused cross-channel fraud prevention solutions, available individually or as an integrated whole, used in both real-time and batch processing to detect and prevent the fraud.
Actimize Anti-Money Laundering Suite is an end-to-end suite of solutions that are available individually or as an integrated whole used to monitor and identify suspicious activities for customers and facilitate regulatory compliance processes. Actimize Enterprise Risk Case Manager is a centralized platform for holistic case and alert management that enables an enterprise-wide approach to risk and compliance operations management. Mirra IV provides small recording system that is suited to simple recording applications, in which it can record up to 48 channels of voice traffic from a variety of analog and digital interfaces. NICE Inform provides information management solution for management of multimedia interactions for security command and control centers, enables effectiv! e managem! ent of multimedia incident information from various sources, for faster incident reconstruction, greater insight and improved response.
NiceVision Net provides a complete solution for Internet protocol (IP) video security, including encoders, decoders and network video recorders. NiceVision ControlCenter provides a control room management and network-based digital video matrix. NiceVision Analytics provides a set of video content analytics applications for automated detection of threats, safety and operational related events. NiceVision Digital provides a portfolio of digital video recorders for different capacities and performance requirements. NiceVision SafeRoute provides a solution for mobile video surveillance onboard public transport vehicles. FAST alpha Silver provides digital video monitoring and recording solution for large to mid-size applications. NiceTrack provides interception, delivery, monitoring, collection and advanced analysis of telecommunication interactions.
The Company competes with Aspect Software, Inc., Autonomy Corp., Cybertech International, eLoyalty, Genesys Telecommunicatons, Nexidia, Verint Systems Inc., ACI Worldwide, FICO, Mantas, Inc., Norkom Group plc, Oracle Corporation, SAS Institute Inc., Sungard Data Systems Inc., ASC Telecom, AudioSoft, Redbox Recorders, Bosch, Genetec Inc., IndigoVision, Milestone Systems A/S, ONSSI, Schneider Electric, Atis, ETI, JSI Telecom, Pen-link Ltd., SS8 Networks, Inc. and Trovicor.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By shash63]
In January, Nice Systems (NICE) had announced that it is in discussion with Verint Systems (VRNT) for possible acquisition. This acquisition will cost Nice Systems $1.5 billion. After this acquisition, the combined sales of both companies is expected to be around $1.5 billion annually, and it will control 70% of the voice recording market, and 50% of the video recording market. This acquisition shouldn�� face any hurdles as Verint System recently purchased the controlling stake of its holding company, Comverse Technologies, thus becoming an independent company. This deal will make it simpler for Nice System to acquire Verint Systems.
Top 5 Tech Companies To Watch In Right Now: Camtek Ltd (CAMT)
Camtek Ltd. (Camtek), incorporated in 1987, designs, develops, manufactures and markets automated solutions dedicated for enhancing production processes and yield for the semiconductor manufacturing and packaging and the printed circuit board (PCB) and integrated circuit (IC) substrate industries. Camtek also designs, develops, manufactures and markets automated optical inspection (AOI), systems and related products. The Company�� AOI systems are used to enhance both production processes and yields for manufacturers in the semiconductor manufacturing and packaging industry and PCB and IC Substrate industry. Through the acquisition of Printar's assets, it also engaged in developing, manufacturing, sale and marketing of direct digital material deposition systems and inks for the PCB industry, with two major fields of activity: Solder Mask and Legend. In addition, through the acquisition of Sela, it is also engaged in the development, manufacturing and marketing of automated scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) sample preparation equipment, primarily for the semiconductor industry.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company had sold more than 2,500 AOI systems in 34 countries worldwide. The Company's PCB customer base includes the majority of the 100 PCB manufacturers worldwide. As of December 31, 2011, it had sold over 300 Falcon systems to more than 25 semiconductor manufacturers, among them outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT), integrated device manufacturers (IDM) and wafer level packaging subcontractors, including eight out of the top 10 semiconductors companies.
Camtek�� AOI systems consist of an electro-optical assembly unit, either movable or fixed, which consists of a video camera, precision optics and illumination sources. The electro-optical unit captures the image of the inspected product; a precise, either movable or fixed table, that holds the inspected product, and an electronic hardware unit, which operates the! entire system and includes embedded components that process and analyze the captured image by using its algorithms. Its systems can also compile and communicate statistical reports of inspection findings through the customer�� factory information system. The Company offers a range of systems for automated optical inspection of semiconductor wafers, IC substrates and PCBs. These systems are used to enhance production yields and assist in controlling manufacturing processes at wafer fabrication, test and assembly houses, and PCB plants worldwide.
The Company�� Falcon systems are designed for the back end market of the semiconductor industry. The Falcon�� advanced algorithms and inspection capabilities enable its dedicated models to detect defects in the die, which, if left undetected, may cause failure. The Condor is designed to meet the current and future inspection needs of the semiconductor industry. The Condor, through algorithms and advanced hardware configuration, is designed to enhance two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) detection abilities and increased throughput. The Condor family includes models for: 3D and 2D metrology and inspection of bumped-wafer prepared for packaging in the flip-chip technology; 2D metrology and inspection of finished wafers at the end of their manufacturing process and in test houses; Post-dicing inspection of frame-mounted wafers at assembly and packaging facilities, where it adds the value of detecting dicing-related damage, and inspection and metrology of micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) and other special applications.
Condor 5LED is an AOI system designed to provide solutions to a range of requirements that are to light emitting diode (LED) semiconductor manufacturers. The LED market�� special inspection requirements are characterized by 3-6 inch wafers, each of which may contain between 100 to over 200 thousand LED devices per wafer. Typically, the wafer is made of a translucent compound semiconductor, such as g! allium ar! senide, gallium phosphide and/or indium phosphide. The Gannet system is designed for the front end market of the semiconductor industry.
The Company�� AOI products for this industry consist of five product lines: the Phoenix, Dragon and Orion for the inspection of inner and outer layers of PCB panels and ultra-fine-line IC substrate; large area masks (LAM) dedicated for inspection of artwork; and the Pegasus for final inspection (AFI) of IC substrates and high density interconnect (HDI) panels. The Phoenix product family, introduced in November 2011, is designed to support a range of the demanding PCB and IC substrate applications, while keeping in pace with the dynamic technology changes in the industry. The Phoenix product family is enhanced with Spark - Camtek's and detection engine providing high detection capabilities, while minimizing false calls.
Dragon systems are high-throughput, automation-ready systems for inspection of all PCB types in a mass production environment. Dragon models are optimized for specific PCB technology ranges - from mainstream circuits of typically 100 (microns) conductor line width, up to high density substrates having 12 (microns) wide conductive lines. All Dragon models are designed to interface with automated material handling mechanisms provided by the Company or other automation suppliers. Orion systems are stand-alone AOI systems for high volume inspection of all PCB types designed to operate in inspectify mode of operation. Inspectify is a mode of operation enabling the operator to perform verification immediately after inspection on the same system, thus saving time and eliminating handling-related defects.
LAM is specially designed for main-stream LAM inspection. It offers unparalleled detection ability on LAM with down to 25 (microns) line/space width technology. The LAM incorporates advanced technology innovations to ensure the level of detection that these masks require at this critical production stage. Camtek offers! various ! stand-alone verification systems that enable verification of panels after inspection. The Pegasus line includes systems for automated inspection of finished IC substrates that are subsequently used in packaging of ball grid array (BGA) and Chip Scale Package (CSP) devices. The Pegasus inspects both sides of the substrate, detecting process and mechanical defects, in particular in the gold-plated areas, where the substrate will interconnect with the silicon die or the PCB, and in the solder-mask areas. Pegasus models handle substrates in strip format in magazines.
GreenJet is a SM digital printing system aimed to replace the conventional SM application lines for prototypes and high mix low volume production. The GreenJet system offers manufacturers flexible and digital SM printing technology solution. The LGP system incorporates PCB digital legend printing technologies with specially developed heat curable ink, resulting in output and system performance. Camtek has developed the inks for both LGP and GreenJet, which involves different chemicals mixed together in order to reach the required ink characterization.
The Company competes with Rudolph Technologies Inc., KLA-Tencor Corporation, Topcon Corporation, Toray Industries, Inc., Hitachi Ltd., Nidec Tosok Corporation., FEI Company, SII Nanotechnology Japan, Carl Zeiss, Inc., Orbotech Ltd., Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Company, Lloyd-Doyle Limited, Gigavis Co. Ltd., ATI Electronics Pty Ltd., Shirai Electronics Industrial Co. Ltd., First EIE SA and MicroCraft K.K.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eddie Staley]
In trading on Tuesday, technology shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1.68 percent. Top decliners in the sector included Camtek (NASDAQ: CAMT), down 15.54 percent, and MakeMyTrip (NASDAQ: MMYT), off 11.85 percent.
- [By Paul Ausick]
Shares of tech industry testing and inspection systems maker Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ: CAMT) closed at $1.89 on November 7th, the day the company announced third-quarter earnings. It closed at $2.65 last Friday and skyrocketed to a high of $6.43 on Tuesday before dropping back to around $4.00 in Wednesday trading.
- [By Paul Ausick]
Stocks on the Move: Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) is up 35.7% at $5.13. Camtek Inc. (NASDAQ: CAMT) is up 71.7% at $4.55 after saying that a 3D printer is coming next year from the company. Sungy Mobile Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOMO) is up 28.8% at $17.19 after last Friday�� IPO. InterCloud Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ICLD) is down 28.2% at $9.20.
- [By Bryan Murphy]
It's fun to be right, but it's also important to be right in a sustainable way. Otherwise, what's the point? While it remains to be seen if yours truly was right regarding his call last week on Camtek LTD. (NASDAQ:CAMT) [it's not looking ideal], it's worth another look at CAMT, if only to see how much progress has been made and what needs to happen now.
Top 5 Tech Companies To Watch In Right Now: Maxwell Technologies Inc.(MXWL)
Maxwell Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets energy storage and power delivery products, and microelectronic products worldwide. The company offers Ultracapacitors that are energy storage devices to provide energy storage and power delivery solutions for applications in transportation, automotive, information technology, renewable energy, and industrial electronics industries; and CONDIS high-voltage capacitors comprising grading and coupling capacitors, and capacitive voltage dividers used to ensure the safety and reliability of electric utility infrastructure and other applications involving transport, distribution, and measurement of high-voltage electrical energy. It also provides radiation-hardened microelectronic products, including single board computers and components, such as high-density memory and power modules for satellites and spacecraft applications. The company markets and sells its products through direct and indirect sales for integration by original equipment manufacturers into a range of end products. The company was formerly known as Maxwell Laboratories, Inc. and changed its name to Maxwell Technologies, Inc. in 1996. Maxwell Technologies was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Early in trading on Friday, industrials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.71 percent. Leading the sector was strength from Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: MXWL) and The Standard Register Company (NYSE: SR). - [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Tuesday, industrials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.78 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) and Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: MXWL). - [By Monica Gerson]
Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: MXWL) surged 9.20% to $10.21. The volume of Maxwell Technologies shares traded was 325% higher than normal. Maxwell's trailing-twelve-month revenue is $190.57 million.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Tuesday, industrials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.78 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) and Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: MXWL).
Top 5 Tech Companies To Watch In Right Now: Partner Communications Company Ltd.(PTNR)
Partner Communications Company Ltd. provides various telecommunications services in Israel. It offers cellular telephony services on GSM/GPRS and UMTS/HSDPA networks. The company also provides basic services, including domestic mobile calls, international dialing, roaming, voice mail, short message services, intelligent network services, content based on its cellular portal, data and fax transmission, and other services. In addition, it offers Internet services provider services that provides access to the Internet, as well as home WiFi networks; value added services, such as anti-virus and anti-spam filtering; and transmission services; and Web video on demand services, music tracks, and games. Further, the company provides voice over broadband and primary rate interface fixed-line telephone services; and data capacity services. Additionally, it offers content services comprising voice mail, text, and multimedia messaging, as well as downloadable wireless data application s, including ring tones, music, games, and other informational content; and sells handsets, phones, routers, and related equipment. The company markets its products through its sales centers, business sales representatives, traditional networks of specialized dealers, and non-traditional networks of retail chains and stores under the Orange brand name. Partner Communications Company Ltd. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Rosh Ha-ayin, Israel.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eddie Staley]
Telecommunications services shares jumped around 1.19 percent in today’s trading. Top gainers in the sector included NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ), China Unicom (Hong Kong) (NYSE: CHU), and Partner Communications Company (NASDAQ: PTNR).
- [By Roberto Pedone]
Another under-$10 wireless telecom player that's starting to move within range of triggering a major breakout trade is Partner Communications (PTNR), a telecommunications company, provides cellular and fixed-line telecommunication services in Israel. This stock is off to a strong start in 2013, with shares up sharply by 29%.
If you take a look at the chart for Partner Communications, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways for the last month, with shares moving between $7.28 on the downside and $7.96 on the upside. Shares of PTRN are bucking the overall market weakness today as the stock starts to move within range of triggering a breakout trade above the upper-end of its sideways trading chart pattern.
Market players should now look for long-biased trades in PTNR if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $7.80 to $7.85 a share and then once it clears its 52-week high at $7.96 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that registers near or above its three-month average volume of 107,303 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then PTNR will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $10 to $12.20 a share.
Traders can look to buy PTNR off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $7.38 to $7.28, or below its 50-day at $6.97 a share. One can also buy PTNR off strength once it clears those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
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